Manchester, Kentucky is a small town, fighting an obesity crisis. “The national obesity rate for adults is 24 percent; in Manchester and surrounding Clay County, it’s been estimates to be as high as 52 percent” (407 Haygood). Some of the issues in the town are, that the residents do not want to acknowledge, or are ignorant of the issue of obesity. Other issues in this town include limited physical activity, and poor food choices. Certain aspects of Michelle Obama’s “Let’s Move” campaign could change the obesity crisis in Manchester, if they are portrayed in the right manner. The first step to fighting the obesity epidemic is education. The mayor of Manchester admits to her ignorance on the issue “I just don’t know a lot about obesity” (408 Haygood). Informing the mayor would be the first step to informing the town. Once the mayor is informed, she could speak out at community event and at schools. It is vital to have a …show more content…
Although many of the towns people do not have the knowledge to make healthy meals, Obama’s “Let’s Cook” video series can inform families on how to cook affordable, healthy, fast and easy meals. The video series can only work if the word gets out into the community. Since kids in Manchester are active on the internet, doing something as simple as advertising at the local school or holding a school wide meeting could inform students about Obama’s “Let’s Cook” campaign. Having a mandatory parent meeting could also assist in getting the word out about the campaign. Families like the Robinson could benefit immensely from this campaign. Scott Robinson is a single father rising his two daughters. His daughters know all the fast food restaurants and their menus, giving the impression they eat out quite often. Being a single father, it is hard for Scott to make healthy and nutritious meals on a budget. Promoting the web series, cannot force families to buy healthy
Brody, Jane E. “Attacking the Obesity Epidemic by First Figuring Out Its Cause.” New York Times. 12 September 2011. Print.
The documentary, titled Killer at Large: Why Obesity is America’s Greatest Threat, is a documentary shedding some light on the growing trend of America and its expanding waistlines. The documentary is geared to unmask the epidemic of obesity in our country. The film sheds some light on how our society is fixated with living and unhealthy lifestyle. The film goes on to inform you on how bad the situation really is, where two-thirds of the American population qualifies as obese or overweight. The documentary tries to uncover the root and causes of how this epidemic came to be and how it can be reversed.
Obesity is a rising problem in the United States. With obesity rates on the rise something must be done to prevent this massive issue. There are ways to help including educating at young ages, improving nutrition facts at restaurants, and providing more space for citizens to get physically active.
Obesity in the United States, which the media has labeled a national crisis, has also been connected to poverty rates. Big fast food industry’s target poor communities, and spend millions of dollars each year to create advertising that appeals to these specific areas. These industry’s also target naïve children when advertising because they know that eating habits developed in childhood are usually carried into adulthood. Children who are exposed to television advertisements for unhealthy food and who are not educated well enough on good nutrition will grow up and feed their families the same unhealthy foods they ate as kids. A big way fast food giants are able to make certain young people have access to unhealthy food is by strategically placing franchises in close proximity to schools. They will often place three times as many outlets within walking distance of schools than in areas where there are no schools nearby. The way fast food advertising is targeted towards children is very alarming considering how important good nutrition is for young people and how a child’s eating habits can affect their growth and
In February 2010, a remarkable chef and speaker, Jamie Oliver, presented himself to a TED (Technology, Education, Design) audience as ruthlessly real and charismatic. In his speech, “Teach Every Child about Food” he shares powerful stories of his anti-obesity project and makes the case for an all-out assault on our ignorance of food. Jaime Oliver’s speech aims to alter the perspective of Americans and their decisions about food and its effects. Since then, Oliver’s TED talk has been viewed across the nation and brought a reality to the issue with food education. Jamie Oliver successfully utilizes ethos, logos, and pathos to portray his belief that without the use of food education, America and its children will fall under the weight of its own obesity.
Throughout the video series “The Weight of the Nation” obesity is addressed several times, including how it as a disease has affected our economy for the worse. Although obesity has not drastically affected the states with higher income, those who live in states with lower income tend to be more negatively affected. In the first part of the video series, there was a study done by researchers in Tennessee proving that people with lower incomes are more negatively affected and prone to the disease of obesity. “If we don’t take on strategies that affect how the low income community is dealing with the obesity epidemic, we’re going to see this phenomenon across our society in a relatively short period of time.”
Obesity in children is a growing crisis in our society. It has become an alarming concern for both communities and health care organizations. There are a number of ways to improve eating habits and encourage healthier choices. Making healthier foods accessible in groceries stores is one example. Our First Lady, Michelle Obama used the following quote during her speech in Chicago to call attention to the lack of healthy food stores in some communities in Chicago. She proclaims that it is a community matter and every one must be involve to make changes. Without change in the community individuals will not have opportunities to make healthier food choice .
This campaign, launched by First Lady Michelle Obama, is aimed to solve the challenge of obesity in this generation’s children (“Let’s Move”). This campaign targets, not just the families, but also schools and communities to improve the environment for children to strive and become healthier. Starting with the family, the program discusses the important fact that children will eat better if they are surrounded by healthier food. Having the parents modeling good behavior and eating the healthier food influences the children and they too will eat the healthier food. They also include tips for how to eat healthier such as mixing vegetables into dishes, substituting fat-free milk or water instead of soda or other sweeter beverages, and substituting desserts for fruit, saving the “treats” for special occasions. In addition, eating as a family is seen to help with obesity because it creates structure in eating and decreases the snacking children have throughout the day (“Let’s Move”). In regards to school, by having the children participate in the National School Lunch Program, as well as the School Breakfast Program, the children are able to have a nutritious meal at a reduced cost or even free. Having options, such as a salad bar, and multiple options for children to choose from that are not just healthy but also delicious, will also help children see that eating healthy is not as atrocious as they perceived. Lastly, with the community in mind, the program, along with the U.S. Departments of Treasury, Agriculture, and Health and Human Services, is providing financing to develop grocery stores, farmers markets and corner stores capable of supplying and selling healthy food in underserved communities to eliminate food deserts. Many markets are even participating in WIC (Women, Infants, and Children) and the
The obesity epidemic is one of the most pressing issues at this point in both American society and U.S. public policy initiatives. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention 35.9% of U.S. adults over the age of twenty are obese (CDC, 2013). The CDC further notes that 69.2% of U.S. adults twenty years of age and over are overweight (this percentage includes those who are obese). The obesity problem is not exclusive to the adults in the U.S. The CDC notes that 18.4% of adolescents between the ages of 12 and 19 are currently obese (CDC, 2013). These statistics illustrate the severity of the obesity epidemic in this country, but what can be done to address or even correct this problem? Many people have proposed solutions, but few are as radical as the proposal from Michael Bloomberg (the New York City Mayor) in 2012.
According to the Centers for Disease Control, “Childhood obesity has more than doubled in children and quadrupled in adolescents in the past 30 years,” meaning that America’s children need to start eating healthier, including healthier school lunches. The National School Lunch Act is a fairly recent addition to American society. For, as the world waged war a second time, the United States began to worry about the strength and health of the country’s soldiers. However, in the beginning, selling excess agricultural goods was more important than building a healthy, well-balanced meal for students. Unfortunately, many children coming from poorer families could not afford well-balanced school lunches, so in order to compensate, the School Lunch Program changed its focus to help these students. This program, however, decreased schools’ lunch budgets, and schools had a hard time keeping up with the amount of free meals they had to provide, so they came up with some extra ways to increase revenue. However, in a small town in Massachusetts, one chef makes a difference in the health of the school lunch students eat each day, and proves that hiring a trained chef to cook real, healthy meals can increase profit. Unfortunately, that is not the case in most schools across the nation. The quality of health of the food being served in school lunches is extremely poor and was allowed to decline even more with a new set of rule changes. However, there are some improvements currently being made to increase the quality of health of the food being served to students, including teaching them all about food and its nutritional information, both good and bad. In order for students to eat healthier lunches at school, the USDA needs to implement healthier ...
It’s common knowledge that immense weight gain can lead to disabilities for those affected. At the same time, how serious do people take these complications until they’re personally affected by death and disability? This was exactly how I felt when watching the HBO documentary. I was aware that obesity can lead to diabetes, death, and other health complications; however, watching this video with personal stories really opened my eyes to these disparities. Hearing the personal stories from individuals who struggle with obesity has motivated me to make sure that I am never in a position where I struggle with my weight in such a manner. I believe that community education would be very beneficial. I believe that perhaps by organizing a 5k race
Obesity is an issue that most people may be aware of, but I don't feel like many people actually know the ins and outs of it and how bad it really is. Although the speech that Jamie Oliver gave was about teaching children about food, I feel as if we need to teach adults about food just as much as children.
Society should consider the physical and emotional problems of obesity in our nation. “Obesity is defined as an excess proportion of total body fat (Mayo Clinic).” American society has become increasingly obese, “characterized by environments that promote increased food intake, unhealthy foods, and physical inactivity (cdcinfo@cdc.gov).” Our nation increasingly has become consumers of a fast food diet. It is so simple to just pick up food on the go and not deal with the hassle of cooking and cleaning up afterwards. What are nation needs to acknowledge is the health risks they will obtain if they do not acquire a healthy life style.
...g" (Freedhoff, 2013). The food industry has duped society into believing that boxed, packaged and drive through food is a safe and just as healthy alternative to domestic cooking. They are successful in this by appealing to the nation-wide desire for convenience. However, if parents are not practicing or demonstrating cooking skills, the art of cooking will soon fade away. When meals are not being prepared at home on at least a semi-regular basis, it seems impossible that that kids will pick up basic cooking skills, skills which are no longer taught in school and which are critical if we want our kids to consume whole, fresh foods later in life. This domino effect can easily be stopped if parents began involving their children in the process of preparing a meal. This simple solution can have a lasting impact of the life of the child and their children in the future.
By taking a stand against the rise of obesity, America’s bodies will be in healthy condition, and are able to be the positive motivation for others to follow. Once more people choose to live a happy and healthful life, the decrease of obesity will begin to show. The solution to solving the issue of obesity in America can be possible by: eating healthier foods, getting proper exercise, and setting boundaries on what fast-food industries can sell to customers. People need to get up and get moving for the problem of obesity and its trail of nasty effects will consume the healthy way of life everyone knows today.